Posts Tagged ‘Kent Mesplay’

Jill Stein won the Green Party of California Primary vote with 48% of the total, surviving a strong push by Roseanne Barr over the last two weeks to gain ground in the Delegate count. Over 13 thousand votes were cast in the Green Party presidential primary, and another 19 thousand votes were cast for Green Party Congressional candidates, but unfortunately none made it into the top two to move on to the General Election.

Presidential Primary:

Jill Stein – 6,563 votes (48.6%)

Roseanne Barr – 5,396 votes (40.0%)

Kent Mesplay – 1,534 votes (11.4%)

This will likely distribute California’s 65 Delegates in the following manner:

Barry Hermanson (CD12) – 4,677 votes (5.2%) 3rd out of 6. Note that Nancy Pelosi won with 74% of the vote, but the second place finisher, Republican John Dennis, only won 12,562 votes. Hermanson was just 8K votes shy of making the “top two”

Carol Brouillet (CD18) – 3,890 votes (4.1%) 4th of 4 candidates

Eric Peterson (CD20) - 1,449 votes (2.0%) 5th of 7 candidates

Michael Powelson (CD30) – 1,523 votes (2.0%) 6th of 7 candidates

David Steinman (CD33) – 3,057 votes (3.4%) 6th of 8 candidates

Anthony Vieyra (CD35) – 5,371 votes (18.7%) 3rd of 3 candidates. NOTE that in this race the other two candidates were both Democrats, who will both move on to the general election. It should be pointed out that 18% is a very good turnout for the Green candidate, and Vieyra had the highest total vote among the California Congressional Candidates and the highest percentage finish as well.

In total, 19,967 votes were cast in California for Congressional candidates in the “top two” primary. Because of California’s Top Two election law, none of them will appear on the general election ballot in November.

In State Legislative races, there were three Greens on the ballot:

David Edwards (SAD1) – 5,050 (5.8%) 4th of 5 candidates. Note that the top two winners were both Republicans, with the Democrat finishing in 3rd place. Edwards beat the Libertarian, who finished in 5th.

Pamela Elizondo (SAD2) – 6,374 (8.6%) 3rd of 4 candidates. Note that the other 3 candidates were all Democrats.

Jack Lindblad (SAD39) – 1,895 (7.5%) 5th of 6 candidates. The top two finishers were both Democrats, with the other 3 candidates all Republicans.

Jane Rands (Fullerton City Council) – 3,340 (26.3%) 2nd of 4 candidates. Note that this was a Recall election of three city councilors prompted by the police beating death of a homeless man that outraged the community. All three of the city councilors targeted for Recall were recalled and replaced.

The California Primary is today, which will determine the proportion of Delegates that will go to the Green Party Presidential candidates Roseanne Barr, Kent Mesplay, and Jill Stein. California, with 65 Delegates to the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention, is the largest Delegation, making the primary very important for all three candidates.

On top of the Presidential Primary, California also has on the ballot the open “top two” primary, in which the top two candidates in each race today for Congressional and state legislative seats will advance to the General Election. Consequently, this is an important election for the Green Party candidates on the ballot in those races. According to the Green Party of California, these candidates are on the ballot today:

The Green Party of Michigan this last weekend nominated 22 candidates for office across the state, from US Senate to local County Commissioner seats. Harley Mikkelson, who had thrown his hat into the Presidential Race, was nominated to run for US Senate. There are also seven candidates for US House of Representative seats.

The Green Party of Michigan also polled its members for Presidential Preference, the results of which will guide the Michigan delegation to the Presidential Nominating Convention. The results of that process translates to 9 of Michigan’s 16 Delegates for Jill Stein, three for Roseanne Barr, and two each for Kent Mesplay and Michigan Green Harley Mikkelson.

Last weekend, three more state Green Parties determined their Delegate support for the Presidential Nominating Convention:

The Iowa Green Party has four Delegates, and the results of their presidential preference ballot was a slight lead for Jill Stein, resulting in two Delegates each for Jill Stein and Roseanne Barr.

The Green Party of Florida has eight Delegates. The proportional distribution of their ranked choice ballot gave Jill Stein 5 Delegates, Roseanne Barr two Delegates, and Kent Mesplay one.

The Green Party of Washington State’s ballots led to Jill Stein winning all four of their Delegates.

According to our *Unofficial Delegate Count*, Jill Stein now has 149 Delegates of the 201 determined thus far, Roseanne Barr is in second with 36 Delegates, Kent Mesplay is at 7.5 Delegates, and Harley Mikkelson is at 1.5. There are 7 Delegates that are “uncommitted”.

This weekend (June 2-3), the Green Parties in Michigan and Georgia will be holding state conventions to determine their Presidential Delegates. Georgia has 4 Delegates, Michigan has 16.

The Green Party of Michigan is meeting at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, and besides the Presidential Preference process they will be nominating candidates for Congress and State Legislative races. the GP of Michigan has a long history of running a strong slate of candidates.

The Georgia Green Party is meeting at the Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Public Library in Tucker, GA on Saturday June 2. Despite having one of the worst ballot access laws in the Nation, the Georgia Greens will be looking to run candidates nonetheless.

Also of note, this last week Kent Mesplay officially became (re-)recognized as a Presidential Candidate for the Green Party after raising over $5,000 for his campaign. This is Dr. Mesplay’s third run for the Presidential nomination, and thus far he is significantly behind in Delegates.

And finally, there is some action in South Dakota, North Dakota and Kentucky to meet and send Delegates to the Green Party PNC. None of the three states have currently accredited State Green Parties, but there is a process by which this can happen. The Green Party has not been on the ballot in the Dakotas since 2000.

After winning nine of ten Delegates in Delaware and Maryland on May 12, Jill Stein picked up 30.5 Delegates last weekend out of 42 available, from six states. The other 11.5 went to Roseanne Barr.

Our unofficial Delegate count now shows Jill Stein has secured 138 Delegates out of the 185 that have been determined, 74.5%. Roseanne Barr has been increasing her numbers, and currently has secured 32 Delegates, for 17%. Kent Mesplay has 6.5 Delegates, Harley Mikkelson 1.5 Delegates, and there are 7 uncommitted Delegates.

Given that Jill Stein has a 100 delegate lead in a contest that has a maximum of 400 delegates, is she now the presumptive nominee? That would depend on who you ask. On the one hand, there are a number of states and territories that have been assigned delegates that have no active Green Party chapters, and will likely not be sending Delegates. I would include in this list Alaska, Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, and the US Virgin Islands – for 24 total. There are another group of states that are wild cards – we know there are Greens there, but we can’t find any indication of when and how they will select their delegates. Those states hold an additional 48 Delegates that may not be allocated. If those states and territories fail to allocate Delegates, then the total number may drop to as low as 330. However, there could be surprises, there is word out that a Green Party will be meeting in North Dakota soon, a state that has been difficult to organize in the past.

There are four tests coming up for both Jill Stein and Roseanne Barr.

First, this coming weekend we may hear delegate results from Iowa (4), Florida (8), North Carolina (4), and Washington (4).

Second, Michigan’s state convention is June 2-3. Michigan has 16 Delegates, one of the five largest delegations. Also meeting that weekend is Georgia (4 delegates).

Third is California, which not only has the largest delegation size (65), but has a state run primary on June 5. Roseanne Barr has been on CNN asking voters to change registration to vote for her, and may very well give Jill Stein a run for her money. 65 Delegates could be a “game changer”.

Fourth, the great state of Texas holds their state convention on June 9-10, possibly the last state to determine their delegates before the July 15th Presidential Convention. Texas has 12 Delegates.

So on one hand, based on a realist perspective on the total possible number of delegates, Jill Stein may only need to secure a few dozen more to get the nomination. But on the other hand, there are 117 Delegates that will be determined over the next four weeks, and Greens can be an unpredictable lot.

The North Carolina Green Party is holding their Spring Gathering & Convention next weekend, featuring Presidential Candidate Jill Stein in person and Presidential Candidates Roseanne Barr & Kent Mesplay via Skype. North Carolina will also be selecting their Delegates to the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention. North Carolina has four Delegates.

From the NCGP:

The NC Green Party invites you to the semi-annual gathering of statewide Greens Friday April 27th and Saturday April 28th.

Friday April 27th at 7:00 p.m, national Green Party Presidential Candidate JILL STEIN will be speaking at the home of our own Jan Martell. Ms. Stein will then do a meet and greet/Q&A with our attendees. This will be a POTLUCK EVENT + BYOB, but if you can’t bring anything, bring yourself! All Greens in NC are invited!

Saturday April 28th from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. we will hold our Spring Gathering/Convention. As part of this event, our other two presidential candidates, ROSEANNE BARR and KENT MESPLAY will be making seperate appearances to our members via Skype at the Dan Pollitt Conference Center in Pittsboro. Both will be speaking and taking questions of our membership.

Kent Mesplay, appearing on NBC San Diego’s “Politically Speaking”, describes ballot access barriers for third parties, and suggests that Roseanne Barr and himself ought to consider working more closely to secure Presidential Delegates.

As pointed out in the comments, the Arizona Green Party intends to recognize only votes for Mesplay and Stein. Since Arizona was allocated 5 Delegates, depending on what type of formula they use Jill Stein will either take all 5 Delegates or four of the five. ~Ron

With the official certification of the Illinois Green Party primary results, Jill Stein has locked in 22 Delegates to the Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC), Roseanne Barr has 5, Kent Mesplay 2, and 2 are Uncommitted.

These numbers are based on a Delegation Formula that is currently being voted on by the Green Party’s National Committee, with the vote concluding this Sunday. The allocation is currently passing by a 43-9 margin, however there is an effort to defeat it and vote on an alternative. If this allocation is passed, there will be approximately 350-400 Delegates allocated, with the largest Delegations to the PNC coming from California (65), Illinois (31), New York (16), Michigan (16), Maine (13), Texas (12), Massachusetts (11), Arkansas (10) and Connecticut (10). The full list of proposed Delegation sizes is listed below.

The only other state besides Illinois that has held a State Convention to determine Presidential Delegations so far is Ohio, which may be allocated 9 Delegates. Given that Jill Stein won 90% of the vote there, she likely will receive 8 or 9 of Ohio’s 9 Delegates, while the 9th Delegate could wind up either Uncommitted or going to Roseanne Barr, who won 4.7%.

Minnesota’s caucuses earlier this month were largely a straw poll, and apparently not binding on Delegate support. The final numbers of that straw poll bear witnessing though: Stein: 92, Barr: 26, Mesplay: 22. If these proportions of support eventually turn into Delegates, Minnesota’s 7 Delegates might go 5 for Stein and one a piece for Barr and Mesplay.

The next Primary for the Green Party is in Arizona on February 28, where six names appear on the Green Party ballot: Kent Mesplay & Jill Stein, who are both running nationally, along with Gary Swing, a Congressional candidate from Colorado, and three Arizonans: Gerald Davis, Richard Grayson, and Michael Oatman. Roseanne Barr had not qualified for the Arizona Primary ballot in time, but given the 18% write-in vote she received in Illinois, gaining votes, and delegates from Arizona is not impossible. Arizona would be allocated 5 Delegates under the proposed plan. A debate in Arizona this weekend features Kent Mesplay and Jill Stein.

Over the next three weeks, many more State Green Parties will be holding Conventions and Primaries to determine Delegates for the candidates seeking the Green Party nomination. While Jill Stein appears to be the early on favorite, it is too early to tell whether she will secure enough Delegates prior to the Presidential Nominating Convention to become the presumptive nominee. Stein’s success so far can be attributed in part to her organized campaign, and her willingness to campaign across the States such as Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, California, Arizona, Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, etc. meeting with “Greens on the Ground.”

Another major force is the Stein Campaign’s serious commitment to Ballot Access. The Stein Campaign got the Vermont Green Party re-established and the Utah Green Party on the ballot, and is actively committing funds and resources to put the Green Party on the ballot in 46 states. This is a costly exercise, but a necessary one. States that benefit from the Stein Campaign’s efforts will certainly reciprocate with votes, and Presidential Delegates. Petition drives are costly, and the Green Party’s Ballot Access Committee has been starved for funds. The Green Party could use a wealthy donor to make a significant contribution earmarked for Ballot Access and the money would be very well spent.

The Roseanne Barr Campaign is by no means sitting on the campaign sidelines. Roseanne’s website prominently states “OCCUPY THE GREEN PARTY!” and encourages people to participate in the Wisconsin Green Party Primary, currently underway. Roseanne Barr’s entry into the Green Party race resulted in hundreds of mainstream press pieces, and her inclusion in a Public Policy Poll, where she polled at 6% versus Barack Obama (47%) and Mitt Romney (42%). Given that the California Secretary of State has added Roseanne Barr to the Green Party’s Primary there in June, and California’s possible 65 Presidential Delegates (16% of the total number), it is safest to say that anything can happen. If nothing else, Roseanne Barr should book herself a ticket to Baltimore in July, because she has earned a prominent role at the Green Party’s Presidential Nominating Convention.

Kent Mesplay is also running for the nomination, and despite setbacks such as being “un-recognized” by the Green Party’s Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC) due to low fund raising numbers, Kent is campaigning as best he can given his limited resources. Mesplay and Stein will be debating in Arizona this weekend, and Mesplay has been clicking for votes in Illinois and Wisconsin via email and Facebook. He is still hoping to raise the funds necessary to become “re-recognized” by the PCSC, but the further behind he falls in the Delegate count, the harder it will be to raise those funds. Mesplay points out that he is on the ballot in Texas, California, Massachusetts, & Arizona, and that he is stumping for votes in other states that meet and vote by Convention.

Harley Mikkelson of Michigan has yet to receive a Delegate, and has not made a significant effort to appear on Presidential Primary ballots such as Arizona that require simply a signed affidavit expressing interest. Although he is not currently recognized by the PCSC due to several measures, he is on the Wisconsin ballot and will likely be on others.

Green Party Watch will continue to provide coverage and commentary about the Green Party Presidential race throughout the year.

Minus one caucus reporting, here are the results of Tuesday’s straw poll:

The Green Party of Minnesota held Caucuses yesterday (Tuesday Feb. 7), and as of this afternoon there has been no official Caucus results released.

However, based on very unofficial (and anecdotal) comments on various Facebook pages, including the GP of MN page, it appears that Jill Stein won a number of the individual caucuses.

Green comments on Facebook include Jill Stein winning Washington County, North and South Minneapolis, and winning 3 to 1 in the 4th CD District in St. Paul, and another report indicates Stein splitting 50/50 with Roseanne Barr in another St. Paul Caucus.

Again, these are all UNOFFICIAL, we acknowledge that, but in lieu of an official media release or report on the Caucus results we felt like reporting *whatever* we could find. The only msm news story we have found post-Caucus is from the Brainerd Dispatch which reports that two Greens showed up for their Caucus, but gave no Presidential results. From Facebook accounts, there were more Greens at other Caucus locations.

If you have any information about Green Party of Minnesota Caucus results we encourage you to post them here in the comments.

Jill Stein scored a very big win at the state convention of the Ohio Green Party on Saturday, winning 90% of the vote in a four-way race in presidential balloting. The convention met in Columbus to select delegates to be sent to the Green Party presidential nominating convention in Baltimore this July.

Ohio’s presidential preference vote was the nation’s first, and was Stein’s first test in the race for delegates. As a result, it provides an early indication of how Green Party members are assessing the candidates seeking the party nomination. The other candidates included on the Ohio ballot were Roseanne Barr, Kent Mesplay, and Harley Mikkelson. read more »